UK Begins 3,000 Pounds Visa Bond in November

United Kingdom is pressing ahead with its controversial new visa policy requesting visitors from Nigeria and five other countries to deposit 3,000 pounds bond before entering the UK despite the huge public outcries that have greeted the scheme in the affected countries.

Financial Times at the weekend reported that : “Britain is pressing ahead with its trial of a scheme to make visitors from six countries pay a £3,000 bond, despite an international backlash and complaints from businesses. The government said it would begin a trial of the scheme in November to impose visa restrictions on six Commonwealth nations, including India and Nigeria, even though David Cameron poured cold water on the scheme in June after it provoked uproar in Delhi.”

The policy is to restrict some visitors from India, Nigeria, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

They will have to pay the refundable cash in return for visitor visas that allow them to stay in the UK for up to six months.

The British government has reportedly decided to go ahead with it though the Home Office insisted that it was meant to target only “high-risk” applicants.

An official told the media that the scheme would be “highly selective,” targeting only “suspicious” applicants.

Under a “pilot” scheme to be introduced in November, first-time visitors from six non-white Commonwealth countries, including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, will be required to deposit a cash bond of £3,000 for a British visa. According to the government, these six countries pose the “most significant risk of abuse” of visas by their citizens.

“In the long run, we are interested in a system of bonds that deters overstaying and recovers costs if a foreign national has used our public services,” the Home Office said.

The move comes barely weeks after Mr. Cameron and Nick Clegg, deputy Prime Minister were reported to have refused to clear the scheme in its present form, fearing that the backlash in India and Nigeria threatened to damage bilateral relations at a time Britain is desperately trying to woo Indian investors and tourists.

Cameron was reported as saying that he would “not sanction” any policy that was likely to undermine his push for investment.

The Financial Times said that the u-turn had provoked anger in Britain’s business circles, who described the plan as an “insulting deterrent” to wealthy tourists from countries like India and Nigeria.

“They are urging the government to drop the pilot, saying the restrictions will damage their business if Commonwealth tourists, particularly Nigerians, now the sixth biggest spenders on luxury goods in Britain, are put off,” it said.

In Nigeria the federal government described it as discriminatory and capable of undermining the spirit of the Commonwealth.